Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jamie

Today is for Hope, Love, Home and Sanctuary

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This day of sanctuary was also sponsored by our good friend, Kathleen Corby, in honor of two very special occasions. Today we celebrate both the honorary 42nd birthday of sanctuary royalty, Queen Negra, and the chimpanzees’ 7th year anniversary in sanctuary! Kathleen shared her beautiful and heartfelt sentiments about today’s celebrations:

“I would like to make two donations for the same day. One donation goes to NEGRA on her 42nd BIRTHDAY. Let me state that I do not have a “favorite” chimpanzee. I admire, respect, and care for each individual equally — quirks and all. But there is something about Negra. Negra instantly captured my heart and I never saw it coming. When I see a photo of Negra or read about her on your blog I often find myself with a catch in the back of my throat, a slight pang in my heart, (sometimes a tear in my eye!) and I experience this fuzzy little feeling. Ah Negra!

This year I want to thank Negra for giving me such pleasure and for teaching me that it is okay to take your time as you embark on a new path. She has shown me that trust, in others and in ourselves, should be afforded the time and nurturing it needs to blossom. Trust is very precious and the offering or earning of trust needs to be handled delicately.

Negra also taught me that you can never count an old gal out! This year she rallied with the best of them, finding new comforts in Foxies trolls and now in her “France Dora” doll. Negra has proven her bravery by venturing out onto Young’s Hill to forage, enjoying time alone in the tall grasses while eating and relaxing in the warm sunshine. I feel so very lucky to be able to witness Negra’s progress into her brave new world and I am grateful that at this stage in her life she has CSNW to allow her these experiences and freedoms. Happy birthday dear Negra. May this entire year unfold before you day by day offering new delights with the passing of time. XOXOXO.

My second donation is in CELEBRATION of the 7 years of SANCTUARY for 7 amazing CHIMPANZEES (and all the care givers, past and current, who make sanctuary happen)! Happy Anniversary to all. I look forward to the future plans of CSNW becoming a reality. On this day I celebrate your passion and compassion. Thank you for educating, inspiring, and connecting us all into one community of people who want to improve the quality of life for chimpanzees. CSNW truly is HOPE. LOVE. HOME. SANCTUARY. Much love always, Kathleen Corby.”

Kathleen, you have embraced each of the chimpanzees and welcomed them into your heart in countless ways. Though it may be from afar, your support and engagement in their lives, and in each step they take toward becoming more fully themselves, is inspiring. We are immensely grateful to have you as part of our chimp family and thank you so much for sponsoring such a special day full of celebration!

Happy Birthday, Negra! We love you!!

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And Happy 7th Anniversary Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra! May all your days continue to be filled with love, respect, joy and comfort. And may you live each day knowing you are home. We could not possibly love each of you more.

Annie:

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Burrito:

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Foxie:

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Jamie:

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Jody:

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Missy:

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Captured Moments

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It’s the day after the 2015 HOOT! Gala fundraising event and we couldn’t be more thrilled! The event was such a huge success and we cannot possibly begin to thank all of you enough for your continued support for the Cle Elum Seven!! It is truly a blessing to know there are so many people that make up this sanctuary family! It’s clear that people near and far have fallen in love with these seven chimpanzees! I’ll leave the details of the event for Diana to write about on the blog later this week. Be sure to tune in for highlights from the big event!

Here are some moments we captured of each of the chimps from today.

Negra sat on the bridge in the Playroom looking toward the window that overlooks the neighbor’s farm.

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Jamie photo bombed this picture of Negra, as she made her way down the railing to where I was standing taking photos (I didn’t notice she had done that until reviewing the pictures).

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Jamie on her way down the railing.

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Jamie checked out her surroundings on Young’s Hill.

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Annie spent some time grooming her leg while in the Greenhouse this afternoon before walking in the tall grass on Young’s Hill.

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Missy enjoyed a cup of water…

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…and then groomed herself.

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Jody took full advantage of the quite afternoon and warm temperature to rest before going back out on Young’s Hill.

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Foxie lounged with one of her troll dolls on her belly before making her way up to the new climbing structure on Young’s Hill.

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Burrito made his way back toward the Greenhouse from the newest climbing structure by walking bipedal in the tall grass.

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Foxie’s in charge now!

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The chimpanzees were ready and waiting for the door to Young’s Hill to be opened this morning after breakfast. With chow bags in hand, they all filed out of the raceway and headed straight for their new climbing structure. And Foxie was leading the way, with purpose and intent in every step! Everyone else just fell in behind her, even boss lady, Jamie.

Foxie, followed by Annie, Burrito, Missy:

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Jamie catches up (crossing over the log):

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Look at these chimps! Jody joins the troop in the lower right corner:

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And today, Negra brought up the rear! She remained a rebel and chose not the follow the others initially, instead sticking closer to the greenhouse to forage in the grass:

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Foxie was the first to climb the tower as well, and all except Negra joined her under the roof as they ate their chow together. I can’t express how amazing it was seeing them all sitting together in perfect calm and peace, taking in their new view. Unfortunately, by the time I reached them with the camera, all had started heading back down the hill except Jamie:

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Once again, even the boss was following Foxie:

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But who do you think I spotted walking out from under the new structure? Oh, just Negra! Today she decided to see what all the fuss was about I guess and although she didn’t climb the structure, the fact that she walked all the way to the top of the hill to see it was incredible. As she calmly ambled back down the hill she was beside herself at finding a huge patch of wild mustard to eat:

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I could barely see her, but she finally peeked out at me:

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The chimps have spent the entire day traipsing all the way up to the new structure, hanging out on the towers, and then coming back down and cooling off with a nap in the cooler play room. I think they may be adjusting to the additional exercise! Once rested they would all head back up again. And so it was all day. Play, repeat, play, repeat.

At the end of the day we had a gorgeous thunderstorm roll through. I went out to check on the chimpanzees as they typically head for the chimp house at the first sound of thunder. Almost everyone was back in the greenhouse, even Jamie, but when I looked up at the towers I spotted Foxie, Annie and Missy, showing no fear or nervousness, seemingly watching the storm in awe. I couldn’t believe it!

Annie and Missy chose the covered tower to observe from:

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And Foxie? Out in the open, all on her own, braving a thunder clap as she peeked over the edge of the railing. I adore this photo:

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My heart has been full to bursting all day at the sight of the chimpanzees embracing their new options with such courage, determination, security and joy. I keep thinking about the contrast their view of the world held seven years ago, living in a windowless basement in cages no bigger than a bathroom stall. Imagine the awe and wonder they must feel now.

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New views, new perspectives

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What an amazing day we’ve had here at the sanctuary! Everyone worked so hard to complete the chimpanzees’ new structure on Young’s Hill early and even had it ready in time for a chimpanzee inspection and lunch forage.

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The chimps were SO excited as we opened the raceway to the hill, pant-hooting, food grunting, and hugging each other in excitement and reassurance. Everyone filed out and quickly made their way to the top of the hill to check things out. Surprisingly, Missy wasn’t the first person on the structure, but she wasn’t far behind Jody, Annie, and Jamie who led the way. And just to warn you, you may have to look a little harder to see the chimps in some of these photos, but we hope it gives you an idea of their new perspective on things!

The new structure is the highest on the hill at about 16 feet high and the chimps’ view is incredible! Annie was one of the first to go up and take it in. She looks so small!:

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Annie looking below the tower:

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Jody was fearless and explored the entire structure with confidence and her new found athletic skills (she is on the shaky bridge as Annie watches from the platform):

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Burrito foraged in the gorgeous new bamboo below the structure initially:

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But it wasn’t long before he joined Annie and Missy (walking on the hand railing, naturally) up top:

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Jamie on the bridge:

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As we’ve previously written on the blog, it wasn’t that long ago that Foxie wouldn’t have felt comfortable exploring this new structure right away. She initially foraged and assessed the situation from below with her troll. But it didn’t take her long to climb right up and explore:

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Never one to take the easy way, Missy climbs one of the posts:

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Those six small, black, specks on the structure are all of the chimps except Negra. This view is from the top of Young’s Hill looking toward the chimp house and the roof in the lower left hand corner is the barn:

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It took a bit for Negra to decide to leave her comfy nest and venture onto the hill to see what all the excitement was about. Being the clever woman she is, she chose to enjoy the forage closer to the greenhouse, which really was pretty smart given that she had it to herself. This was one of the only sightings of the Queen as she disappeared in the tall grass and shade:

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And you can probably guess who the speck of a fearless woman in the following photos is…Missy, of course, had to test out tightrope options. After all, why be boring and take the bridge between the towers when you can walk across on the fire hose? (Honestly, I think we all had to remind ourselves today that even though we shuddered seeing them so far off the ground, they were doing what chimps are meant to do!):

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Her best friend, Annie, waiting to greet her at the other end:

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If you look closely, that tiny looking chimp walking on the hand railing of the tower is the boss lady, Jamie:

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Jamie takes in the view of her kingdom:

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In two weeks time we will be celebrating not only Negra’s birthday (June 13th), but the chimpanzees’ 7th year in sanctuary. It’s hard to believe how far they’ve come since they arrived. The ghosts of themselves they arrived as, the fears, anxieties, and uncertainties they carried, are shadows of who they’ve become. Shadows that grower fainter by the day. We are profoundly thankful to all of you who have made this possible for the chimpanzees and can’t wait to share all that lies ahead with you.

Serious face

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Yesterday, Elizabeth posted this great blog about Jamie—if you missed it, definitely check it out.

Normally, I try not to post about the same chimpanzee two days in a row, just to keep things varied, but I took some photos of the Boss today and couldn’t resist putting them on the blog. Jamie was just chillin’ in the greenhouse this afternoon, demonstrating her serious face.

After I took these photos, she came down to take a look at them. She seemed to approve, so I figured they were good to go!

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